Do People Trade Forex on Weekends?

For many aspiring traders, one of the many initial attractions to the forex market is its seemingly endless trading-day hours, and the ever-enticing visual depiction of price movement. But as with most other industries of capitalist endeavour, the forex markets have opening and closing periods.

No, you cannot trade the live forex markets on the weekends; this is because virtually all banks (both central and commercial), money management funds, and even large brokers are closed during the weekends, and Bank Holiday periods. But there are several benefits to this reality.

For some beginner traders, the absence of forex ‘action’ during weekends might be perceived as some degree of setback; however, weekends provide an excellent opportunity to reflect upon your trading activities of the concluded week by revisiting your trading journal(s), and accessing your general thoughts and feelings about the week.

Can I Trade Forex as a Student?

The seemingly low barriers to entry in forex trading tends to attract a variation of personalities, and demographics; and that includes students of multiple kinds.

Yes, you can trade forex as a student, and from almost any location in the world; but there are some important considerations to be addressed, as explored below.  

One of the first elements deserving of thorough consideration is ‘compatibility’. For the most part, academic pursuit is fairly serious business, and the skill to be gained from certain disciplines (such as medicine) may not always lend favourably to some of the skills that will be required as one progresses in a trading journey. For instance, at an advanced level, trading requires fluidity of the mind in allowing and enabling for ongoing changes in a given market environment to be assessed by the trader: and acted upon without any emotional attachment whatsoever. On the contrary, some academic disciplines require for theory to be upheld at all times: regardless of practical conditions.   

The second consideration is ‘time management’. Forex trading must never be engaged as an afterthought (perhaps unless trading using signal services) to any other time-constraining activities within one’s daily schedule. Some students support the funding of their academic pursuit by working part-time jobs, in addition to tackling ongoing school assignments, and an attempt to uphold some semblance of social life. Within such a setting, adopting forex trading (or trading of any other markets) as an additional activity could prove more harmful than beneficial.

For students who are intent on adopting forex trading in addition to a busy work schedule, good ‘time management’ skills are vital.

Can I Trade Forex PART TIME?

One of the main positives of trading, irrespective of age, gender or location, is flexibility.

Yes indeed, anyone can trade forex part time; but the chances of overall trading skill development and general progression is greatly reliant upon one’s interpretation of the term ‘part time’.

In general, one’s preference for trading part time could either be influenced by time constraints, or lifestyle constraints. If, for example, an individual maintains full time employment within a corporate structure, and such role is unavoidably time demanding, the individual would possess notable time constraints; and as such, forex trading (or trading of any other markets for that matter) in addition to current work commitments would not be an ideal combination: since limited focus and dedication would become an ongoing trait.      

When lifestyle constraints are the reason behind a preference for trading on a part time bases, it may simply indicate that the individual has willingly and consciously chosen to only dedicate a given number of hours weekly to the business of trading. Within such context, and more likely than not, there is always scope for more time to be dedicated towards trading: especially if improvements to trading performance could be attained.  

Can I Trade Forex at night?

With the exception of Bank Holidays and sessional holidays, the forex market operates from Mondays to Fridays.

Any trader can participate in the forex markets during the day or night. However, one should keep in mind that, depending on your location, some pairs are better suited than others. Let’s explore the options further below.

What Forex Pairs Can I Trade at Night?

If you are located in Africa or Europe and would like to trade forex during the night, pairs containing any of the following currencies are most ideal: AUD, JPY, NZD.

If you are located in Asia and would like to trade forex during the night, pairs containing any of the following currencies are most ideal: CHF, EUR, GBP, CAD, USD.

If you are located in The Americas and would like to trade forex during the night, pairs containing any of the following currencies are most ideal: CHF, EUR, GBP, AUD, NZD, JPY.